Hand operated injection molding machines have been around for decades. One of the first machines commercialized was built by Arburg, Inc. in 1954. It was originally designed for internal use to fabricate a particular part. However, in 1956 the company decided to sell the machines outright, ultimately selling over 10,000 units. Although the early Arburg machines were probably fine machines in their day, their mode of construction wouldn't provide the manufacturing versatility needed in today's globally competitive environment.
More recently, within the last 35 years or so, a number of other hand-operated injection molding machines have been built and marketed by various companies. For example, Educational Machinery Corporation (EMCO) produced a hand-operated injection molding instructional device, which was primarily sold to schools to demonstrate the basic process of injection molding. Honetech, Inc. produced the Honejector Injection Molder, which was very similar to the EMCO machine, except for minor differences in style. NRK Mfg. & Engineering Co. produced the Plasticor Jr. along with some molds to make plastic toy figures. Presumably the NRK machine was intended as a novelty or toy. There have also been numerous inventors and entrepreneurs who have built their own hand-operated injection molding machines over the years, with various levels of success. Many of these machines have been very basic in design, where flat and angled metal plates were simply welded together to construct the support frame, and then the individual components were then attached to it one after another until the machine is built. A popular book on the market, Secrets of Building An Injection Molding Machine (ISBN 1-878087-19-3) describes in detail how to build a basic injection molding machine exactly that way. What is missing from the prior art machines heretofore is that none are constructed in a way that facilitates an efficient and economical method of mass production. What is also missing from the prior art machines heretofore is that they lack the functional improvements and manufacturing versatility demanded in today's marketplace. It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved injection molding machine apparatus and method of constructing the same to obviate the prior art shortcomings.